Scholarship / Valedictorian Admission Form (Grade 8) - what qualities do you posses [3]

Hello, I have been nominated to be Valedictorian therefore must write an essay answering the following question.
"What qualities do you possess that would make you the strongest candidate to serve as Valedictorian for the Grade 8 of 2021-2022?"
I'm quite new to essay writing
I added as much detail as possible
I welcome any corrections and criticisms. This is all for the improvement of my essay.
Thank you in advance for helping ;)

scholarship application essay

"The key to success is to focus on goals, not obstacles.". This quote truly means so much to me as a potential candidate for Valedictorian. Throughout my academic career, I have faced my fair share of obstacles, such as arriving in North America as an immigrant at a young age, constantly changing schools due to my father's career, etc. With time I have overcome these hurdles, taking on challenges that have shaped me into the person that I am today: A more academic, confident, and intuitive Mehraan. A Valedictorian must show leadership, academic development, and persistence, but most of all, he/she must be a role model. Throughout this year, I have become a more communicative and expressive student. I've participated immensely in the classroom, and taken on a leadership position when working with my peers. An example of a time when I showed leadership was a few weeks ago when a retired politician named Percy Hatfield arrived at our school to educate us about the electoral system in Ontario. To demonstrate the electoral process, he set up a false election for demonstrative purposes: students would give a brief speech regarding the policies they would bring to the school and the changes they would implement once "elected". I participated in this activity, and my speech highlighted the need for more field trips and engaging academic activities. I suggested a reward system for staying on task and overachieving as a class, and I won the election by 10 votes. I confidently share my ideas and opinions with peers during class discussions and value the ideas and opinions of others. I strongly believe I am the right person to represent the Grade 8 Graduating Class of 2021-2022, and I'm confident that my classmates and peers would agree. I believe my (insert qualities) are the key to my position as the strongest contender for Valedictorian.